Reviews of Altamar Apartments, Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria

We have just returned from a...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mrs A COLLIER

Comments:

We have just returned from a family holiday (2adults and 2 kids) and have had a fantastic time. Before goin i read a few reports that had me a little worried but these were soon forgotten when we arrived. After a night flight we arrived early hours of the sunday morning and went to collect our keys, we then had to go to the lift that everyone has made comments on....they were true haha....it was deff an experience on its own although not once did it break down during our stay...obviously we were lucky!! The apartment itself was lovely...plenty of room for all of us. The only thing that i would say....IS WHERE IS THE BLODDY KETTLE!! The swimming pools were great and very big so the kids had a great time bein able to swim till we had to literally drag them out! The resturant was very good and the service was fantastic. We only ate there twice but the buffet menu was great for everyone and you could eat as much as you liked. Adults 10 euros and children 5 euros. That was for as many courses as you liked!!! They also had a standard menu if you wanted something else. Kids menu was great too. BIG GAZ.....well what can i say....he was a scream....great bloke who has a great sense of humour and the kids loved him too. Overall the complex was clean and tidy and the staff were very nice. The actual thomas cook rep.....Ben....well he was useless and didnt help much at all when my daughter came down with an ear infection and the doctor told me i may not be able to fly home...luckily we were able to and that was all thanks to the fantastic spanish doctor!! The amadores beach is just a short walk away and is gorgeous....the kids could play in the shallow waters and the best bit is the sand rubs off and doesnt stick to everything lol. The Europa was just a stones throw away and had plenty of bars and resturants to cater for everyone. They were very friendly and always made you and the children especially feel very welcome. Watch out for the guys that try selling you camcorders....ipods...psps....ds etc as they will try ripping you off....tell them what you want to pay for it and if they say no walk away.....they will soon come chasing you agreeing to the amount you offered haha. I got 2 ipods and a digital camcoder/camera all for about £150. They told me i was a hard woman...too bloody right when i know they will drop the price!! Since being back home ive had them all checked out and they are all working perfectly well so the kids are happy and so am i. Would deff go back to the Altamar again.

I found the Altamar to be among...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mr A Evans

Comments:

I found the Altamar to be among the best family orientated appartment/hotel that we as a family have stayed at, we have a16yr old son and 9 yr old daughter, and for the 2 weeks we stayed they did not have any gripes. The rooms are bright and clean (recently referbished, I believe) with huge balcony and fantastic sea views. All the staff are courteous and friendly. The Altamar is well situated for families, away from the main commercial center but only 200 yrds from all the shops, restaurants and bars of the Europa center. The entertainment at the Altamar was great, kids club for the younger children, with happy hour and cash bingo every day from 4 till 5 and various live shows each evening. The food and drinks are no more than what you will pay if you go out of the complex. Getting out and about is no problem as there are always Taxis waiting just across the road from the entrance of the complex (3 euros to Puerto Rico center, easilly walked but you will want aTaxi back!), I did notice that wherever we went on the island when it was time for a taxi home we never once had to explain where the Altamar was! It is also worth mentioning that the Altamar is a Thomas Cook run complex so the vast majority of the guests are UK. I would recommend the Altamar to anyone (especially families) we had a great time there and will be returning next year.

My pregnant wife, 16 month old...

Overall Rating:

7/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mr M Hardy

Comments:

My pregnant wife, 16 month old son and I have just returned back from a two week holiday in the Altamar Apartments. This was my first visit to Gran Canaria and cannot find fault with the Island. However, before booking these apartments it's worth noting a few things.



1) Like most of Peurto Rico, the Hotels/Apartments are sited on Rocky hill sides and the Altamar, being no exception, has the reception on the top. All of the accommodation is then accessed by way of one of two 'Funiculars' which are cable driven carriages (if heights bother you then avoid looking out of the windows!). The one nearest the reception travels only 6 levels, whilst the far end travels the full 8 levels - frustratingly for most of our stay, when you were in the carriage the only way you could get to level 8 (reception and Spar Market) was if someone outside the carriage on level 8 had pressed the call button as levels 7 & 8 could not be accessed from within. Almost every day of our stay there seemed to be problems with them. We were on level 1, one up from the bottom and to access this level, the far end carriage would only get you there. When this carriage is inoperable, you have to use the other carriage and walk down steps to reach your level - far from ideal if you have suitcases/child buggy or cannot manage steps easily. I could say 'allow an extra day for your holiday as you'll need it for waiting and travelling in those carriages'



2) Gran Canaria and in particular the region where Puerto Rico is sited enjoys a tropical temperature - we saw daytime temperatures between 28 and 42 degrees and night time temperatures in the early 20's - these rooms HAVE NO AIR CONDITIONING - only ceiling fans that do not offer much respite from the hot temperatures.



3) Travelling with small children? Then these apartments are not very 'child friendly'. Whilst the balconies are a reasonable size and all enjoying sea views, the tiled surfaces both on the balcony and in the rooms do not offer a soft landing for small children. During the heat of the day the floor tiles on the balcony are so hot you cannot walk on them in bare feet and any accidental spills/dripping after showering/rain needs to be mopped up immediately to avoid slipping on the wet tiling. There is small retaining boundary wall to all balconies but no gates to keep in small children a nightmare for us as our 16 month old just wants to explore all the time - we improvised by blocking the entrance to the balcony with the coffee table out of the room to contain our precious 16 month old son!



On positive notes, the accomodation was a reasonable size, had wonderful views, cleaned regularly and the staff on the whole were friendy and helpful.



As we 'self catered' I cannot offer any comments on the restaurant/bar but reading most of the other reviews seemed to be of a reasonable standard & quality.



Entertainment? - as we made the most of the sunny daytimes with visits to the beaches and travelling around the island (hired car for 7 days) by the time the evening came around we were quite happy to relax in the room so didn't experience any of the entertainment.



In our opinion, if you have very small children, then this would not be the place to go.



Would we return to the Altamar? Not with small children, maybe when the children were older although there is a lot of choice in Puerto Rico and there is still development going on.



Hope you find these comments useful.

just got back from a 2 week...

Overall Rating:

5/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Miss E Sadler

Comments:

just got back from a 2 week holiday myself (22) and my boyfriend (22), we had booked the holiday through thomas cook which was quick and easy no hassel but when asked how to pre book our seats for the flight later found out that we were not flying with thomas cook??? when arriving at the airport 3:30am the transfer that had been pre paid for had actually been delayed and the thomas cook reps were not helpfull at all and very rude not willing to answer questions,

when arriving at the altamar it is very clean we had requested a middle floor apartment when booking the holiday but we had a ground floor apartment, the lift is strange it goes sideways and this can break down from time to time there are lots of steps and the lay out of the apartments are very confusing for the first week, the apartment is a good size we asked for a double bed but 2 singles pushed together the balcony is over looked from neighbours next to you and not private at all, the maids are very noisy when they DO come to clean they remake the beds not change the sheets there is a microwave and toaster with 2 hobs there is a fridge freezer, no air con but there are 2 ceiling fans which were on constantly as it was hot.

The apartments are built in a good location the europa centre is about 5min walk away, puerto rico beach and shopping centre which is where all the bars are based is a taxi ride away which cost around 4euros, the beach is nice the sun longers and parasols to rent are around 5euros,

I have been to gran canaria before but not to puerto rico i knew what to expect with weather wise and shops but there seemed to be more people hassling you to go into bars and shops which can get annoying every hour is happy hour in the shopping centre the drinks arent that cheap and the food is good lots of steak houses and irish pubs about there is a mcdonalds and subway open at night time as well for when you come out of the clubs deffinatly reccomend joker night club opens at 9:30pm and is open till 7am plays all dance old and new and rnb very good drink prices, give harleys a miss the drinks over priced and the bar staff are rude,

the spar at the apartment is very expensive so go inot the europa centre to do your food shopping, also if your flight is an evening flight you can keep your room till 6pm rather than checking out of your room either 12pm or 1pm as requested but prepare to pay 40 euros for this,

on our return home we were told by a thomas cook rep there was a flight delay of 2hours but later found out by checking the monitors ourselves this had extended to 4 hours there are no thomas cook reps around to ask question in the airport and the help desk is never open and just has signs telling you the gate number will be shown when the plane lands.

overall we had a good holiday but the apartment and area we think is over rated, the people who were on holiday there are all very friendly and also out and about everyone is english so very friendly.

thomas cook on the other hand we will never be booking a holiday with them again as they had nothing to do with the holiday you book it with them and not fly with them and the welcome meeting is done by 2 reps who always looked hung over and not actually wanting to be there the entertainment is from the apartment itself nothing to do with thomas cook and the trips are extremely expensive we went to the aquapark which we organsied through thomas cook rep this cost 30 euros each we later found out the entrance fee only cost around 5 euros which is very disapointing, the entertainment i thought was good they had happy hour every day and bingo which was always fun plus everynight of the week there was entertainment very good.

stayed at the altamar and it was...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Other M Goodenough

Comments:

stayed at the altamar and it was fantastic! when booked it and saw pictures we had mixed feelings.But when turned up it was 1 ov the best hols ever, only a 5 min walk to the europa center and theres plenty to do restrauntes bars arcades ive got to recommend a brilliant restraunt the el mundo (oppisite little italy)



20 min walk to the main puerto rico town and basically didnt recommend going there no different to europa center just much bigger and has mc idees (mcdonalds)



went to the waterpark aqualand maspolomas get tickets from reception and get there for free coach on thursdays expensive and not that big though 2 adults 2 children around bout 80-85 euroes



overall brilliant holiday

We have just come back from a...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mr J Davies

Comments:

We have just come back from a week at the altamar and throughly enjoyed our holiday. When we arrived at 2:30am we were given the keys to our room which was on the 2nd floor (we had requested a room high up when we booked our holiday so were more than happy). Only problem was, was the lock on the door was broken and we were unable to lock the door. I reported this to reception and they sent security down straight away. He was unable to sort the problem and said he would get maintenance to come first thing in the morning and that he would keep an eye out through the night. As promised, maintenace came the next morning at 9am and fixed the door.



The rest of the holiday was great. The room itself was very clean and modern.



The only downside to the holiday was the location of the hotel. Although the small commercial centre was only a short walk away, there were only a hand full of bars, shops and resturants there. The centre at the bottom of the hill had more to offer but it was a good walk and coming back was all uphill. We had a taxi everytime we went down which cost just over 3 Euros.



If anyone is thinking of going to the altamar, then i would recomend it but only if your willing to catch a taxi to the main centre and the beach as its not really walking distance.



Overall we had a great stay at the altamar and would consider staying there again if we ever went back to Puerto Rico.

arrived back last night from 1...

Overall Rating:

5/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mrs La Lambourne

Comments:

arrived back last night from 1 week self catering at altamar, very clean and well kept appartments lovley big balconies with sun loungers swimming pools also very clean and good never done a holiday in sept before and felt the entertaiment was very poor singing or karoke every night and nothing for children other than the reps dancing to couple of songs with them each night, the sioux city trip is def worth the money excellent the free trip to anfi is a con they tell u u get free lunch etc but as soon as you say your not interested in buying into there 5* appartments they dont want to know, got ice creams for kids on the way around tho! shopping centre 5 min walk so well located main centre is taxi ride away about 3 euro, the place we ate most night which i could reccomend is valentinos italian restaurant the staff there are fantastic and love the children, the actual bar staff and waiters at alatmar never smile pull u half a pint of beer the rest froth, and are generally not sociable people big gazza and the djs were very good tho! had a few baby cockroaches in bathroom but didnt cause much bother,the cable car is something else proved it quicker to walk stairs (if u r fit) u spend most of the time going up and down to floors other than the one u want to get to, overall 9/10 for appartments and area had a lovely rest but would'nt go back to here.

BRILLIANT just arrived back from...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mrs E Boag

Comments:

BRILLIANT just arrived back from a two week stay at the altamar 2 adults 2 children 6 and 15 yrs.Both children kept entertained they had no complaints for 2 weeks. The rooms were cleaned everyother day and had fridge freezer microwave and a hob. Views from rooms and restaurant were breathtaking. The breakfast buffet was a good start to the day but the buffet at night didnt really cater for my fussy family so my son lived on chips and chocolate icecream but i enjoyed the food, there are lots of places to eat so you can get plenty outside hotel.All the staff were polite and eager to help the entertainment crew were brill big Gazza Gary Leanne and Oli we all thought Leanne was really great with the kids and includedthem all. My 6 year old son looked forward to bingo everynight at 5 he loved the song which he plays over again now we are back home (very annoying lol)the 2 weeks went too fast and we will deffinately be going back hopefully next year.

Just come back from spending 2...

Overall Rating:

6/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Miss S Harrold

Comments:

Just come back from spending 2 weeks at the altamar , the holiday itself was fab red hot weather every day . the room we had at the altamar was very clean . the lift which is all most like a cable car is a night mare keeps breaking down . the breakfast at the altamar was very nice you had a large english breakfast for 5 euro which is well worth the money . the buffet wasnt to good , the pool area is crap if u dont get up for 8 to put a towel u have got no chance of a sun bed . it cost us 160 euro to pay to go round a pool for the 2 weeks which is down the bottom by the beach . the altamar was okbut i would not stay there again , we have been to purto rico 3 times and this holiday wasnt has nice has the last 2 we spent there i think it was due to the fact we could never get round the pool , our son who is 11 was so fed up that he could not go into the pool . at the altamar they do happy hour 2 drinks for the price of 1 the larger was crap so we didnt go for happy hour they play bingo has well 4 till 5 . we never had our beds changed in the 2 weeks we were there . we had clean towels twice in 2 weeks . never again will we be goin back there .

just returned from excellent 2...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2008

Tour Operator:

JMC Holidays

Submitted By:

Ms K Davies

Comments:

just returned from excellent 2 week holiday in altamar.we were 2 adults and our children 12 and 9.the appartment was spotless and cleaned regularly but sheets could have been changed more often.the balconies are massive and views are fab.sunbeds are not supposed to be kept but are, so you need to be up early to get one.lift could be a bit scary but so many steps you have to use it and it never broke down.entertainment crew are excellent big gazza,gary and leanne.europa only few minutes walk away and has everything you need but we preferred to go to center in puert rico. 3 euros for taxi which are always outside .only bad points were no air conditioning and it was scorching there and the reps night on a thursday.dont pay for this trip it is called fibbers thursday and is appalling.it cost 42 euros but you have to get a taxi there yourself,there wasnt enough seats for everyone,all toilets were blocked within 5 mins.for the first hour its just music playing.dont go-big con. everything else BRILLIANT!will definately go back.

no air conditioning ,and its hot...

Overall Rating:

2/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mr P Clement

Comments:

no air conditioning ,and its hot there..did not enjoy it one bit,too hot at night nothing to do..and very expensive..i will never go again,,

LOVED IT! we have been all over...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mrs S Schofield

Comments:

LOVED IT! we have been all over the world and stayed in 5* hotels so we was a bit apprehensive about this hotel before goin because it was so cheap. WOW! when we arrived, the reception was really big, something you would expect from 4* hotels. There were 2 large pools, kids playarea, footy/sports arena, supermarket, games room, LargeTV area, internet access and more. The balconies were huge and with 2 children aged 6yrs and 10yrs i felt they were safe.

We were in block B and 2 floors above the entertainment but it wasnt a problem as it wasnt too noisy. would choose to be in this block again.

The altamar is a 5min walk from the europa cntre and a 20min walk from a small beach. The main center is quiet far although it can be walked (30mins+) but would recommend getting a taxi for about £3. there are more offers on drinks at the main center so you actually get your taxi fare back anyway.

There were plenty of sunloungers when people were not researving them for every child and then not using them.

Entertainment was brilliant! there were different shows on everynight ranging from snake man to blues brothers and parrot shows.

The only problems with the Altamar was that the sheets were only changed once in 2wks and there were a few very tiny ants in room.

The BEST thing of all was the view, AMAZING!!

Would book this hotel again. Providing the euro exchange rate gets better as it worked out very expensive for us because it was so low.

what a fantastic holiday at the...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mrs L Nash

Comments:

what a fantastic holiday at the Altamar. Our thomas cook reps were Lucy and Ben and they were extremely helpful. Our excursions were brilliant and good value for money, especially the Casino Royal. Our best day out was to ANFI, thank you to our Anfi Rep Lynne, who is based in the hotel. It was everything and more. Don't listen to other people, go yourself and experience everything ANFI has and more. Altamar is great and has everything you need, would definately go back there again, if I wasn't coming back next year to ANFI

We had a fantastic time at the...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mrs D Hayes

Comments:

We had a fantastic time at the Altamar. I thought the kids were kept entertained all the time and there was always something going on in the bar at night. The cleaners were in a lot so the apartment was kept clean although we only got clean bedding once in our fortnights stay. Very friendly & helpful staff. The only thing I was dissapointed in was the price of soft drinks and snacks at the bar ( a packet of quavers was 1.60 euros) however we did go out most of the time.



The Altamar is situated in a great place too, near to all the shops and beaches.



Excellent hoilday would go back tomorrow!!!!

When I first arrived at the...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mr C Doherty

Comments:

When I first arrived at the altamar we were given the key to our room. Unfortunately when we got to the room it was a mess and the maids had not been around to clean the rooms. Not a good start to the holiday.



My wife and I then went to the bar to have a cocktail while the room was cleaned. When we returned we were happy with the accommodation and settled in well. Everyday had happy hour from 4-5pm which you milk for the first first few days. Then bingo at five o clock after happy hour finishes. I won 300 euro on the bingo on the second day of the holiday which boosted the holiday funds.



Most days we stayed arond the pool but there is also a nice beach Amadores which is a 25 min walk down the hill from the hotel. I liked Peurto Rico as although the weather was baking hot there always seemed to be a nice breeze which helped keep you cool.



I only ate the bar food at the hotel as snacks from when I was sunbathing which filled a hole and never sampled the restaurant food so cannot comment on that.



At the top of the hill we ate at Barbacoa which was nice food but slightly more expensive than most of the restaurants.



Most of the time we ventured to the centre at the bottom of the hill which had lots more bars, restaurants and shopping. Harleys was the best bar down there.



On second last day I won half a house on the bingo again which got me 125 euro which was sweet as it helped get in a last few minute presents.



The lifts can be a bit annoying as they are like cable cars but they didn't bother me too much as I was on holiday and in no rush to go anywhere.



To conclude I felt it was a great place to visit but one week was enough for me as two weeks might drag a bit going to the centre every night. I found everyone friendly in puerto rico and would not have to much negativity about the resort or accomodation.